Dakota Bezemer wins the Ontario SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 Regional competition!

Dakota Bezemer claims the “Ontario’s Best Bricklayer” title.

On September 20th, 2023, at Conestoga College in Waterloo, Ontario, mason Dakota Bezemer and mason tender Nate Chipps with Cedar Springs Landscape took the first-place position at the Ontario SMBL500 event. This team secured their tickets to compete in the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada in January 2024 at the World of Concrete Tradeshow. 

Laying 726 bricks in 60 minutes, this team has topped all the competition so far in our SMBL500 regional series. The Bezemer-Chipps team claimed the “Ontario’s Best Bricklayer” award, winning a whopping $3,000 in cold hard cash! This team is no stranger to the competition, as they took first place last year in the 2022 regional series event. Heading to Vegas for the second year in a row, will they have what it takes to place in the top three spots? Along with the $3,000 in cash, this team won a Marshalltown Tool Bag, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and two tickets to compete in Las Vegas. 

The 2023 Regional Series includes 23 events throughout the United States and Canada. To qualify for the SMBL500 event in Las Vegas, teams will compete at one of the 23 individual regionals and battle for first place to secure their spot in the national competition. The teams consist of one mason and one tender; working on a 26-foot-wide wall, they have 60 minutes to lay as much brick as possible with the fewest craftsmanship errors. These teams are only allowed to compete once at one regional event throughout the year, and each duo that wins first place will advance to what is known as the “Superbowl of Masonry.” At the World Championship, they will compete to win part of $125,000 in cash in prizes, including a Kubota RTV-X1140, Essick Pro12 mixer, and of course, the title, “World’s Best Bricklayer.”

The Top Craftsman winners at the Ontario Regional event were Michael Alves and Alvero Andrade with A&M masonry. This team laid 533 bricks and the judges deemed them to have the ‘perfect-most sellable wall’. This team also took third place in the competition. For the Top Craftsman title and third-place position, this team won a hefty $1,500 in cash, a 2-foot Stabila Level, and a Marshalltown Tool Bag. Mason Michael Alves has competed in Vegas before as a mason tender, he and his mason took first place at the Championships in 2019! In second place at the Ontario Regional was Filipe Orfao and tender Jose Orfao with Res Masonry. This team laid 648 bricks in 60 minutes, winning them $600, a Marshalltown Tool Bag, and a 2-foot Stabila Level. Filipe has competed in 15 regional events in Ontario over the years!

Accompanied by the Ontario Regional event was the JR. BL500 competition. This contest is a shortened rendition of the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500, where students and masonry apprentices display their skills for the chance to win cash and prizes! These competitors battle for the “JR BRICKLAYER 500 CHAMPION” title. First place was Ryan Farrow with Conestoga College, he won $500, Marshalltown Tools, and a Stabila Level. In second place was Lucas Knapper also with Conestoga College, for his efforts he received $200, Marshalltown Tools, and a Stabila Level. Lastly, in third place, was Manvir Sidhu who also attends Conestoga College, he won $200, Marshalltown Tools, and a Stabila Level. 

Disclosures:

In 2019, the SPEC MIX organization partnered with other masonry associations to create the JR. SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 Competition. In 2023, of the 23 Regional Series competitions, 15 will also hold a JR. BRICKLAYER 500 contest to allow high schoolers and masonry apprentices to compete for top honors and prizes. The program has proven remarkably successful and highly supported by the Mason Contractors Association of America, school administrators, and numerous masonry supply manufacturers and dealers. To learn more, visit https://www.specmix.com/jr-spec-mix-bricklayer-500/.

2024 World Championship: If you are interested in becoming a fan, the 22nd annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 World Championship will take place on January 24th, 2024, at the World of Concrete tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Las Vegas Convention Center Bronze Lot. At this competition, 25 world-class masons lay it all on the line to claim their portion of the total purse valued at more than $125,000. Prizes include a Kubota RTV-X1140, Multiquip Pro 12 Mortar Mixer. Additionally, there will be other prizes from Hilti, Hydromobile, IQ Power Tools, QUIKRETE Companies, Razor-Back Tools, Stabila, Marshalltown, STIHL, Hohmann & Barnard, and Belden Brick. 

2023 JOURNEYMEN SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 ONTARIO REGIONAL RESULTS

2023 JUNIOR SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 ONTARIO REGIONAL RESULTS